Texas investigates LinkedIn over alleged 'ghost jobs' targeting job seekers 53%

7/15/2026, 4:35:06 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Optimism Bias, and Availability Heuristic, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 24.2% saturation with 107 hits. Analysis detected 755 faulty-reasoning hits from 443 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 51.9% and a BS Rank of 53% (7,638 of 15,980 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 52.20% of the article peer group.

Texas has launched an investigation into LinkedIn over allegations the company allegedly advertised and profited from fake or misleading job listings known as "ghost jobs," the attorney general's office announced Tuesday. 
The investigation centers on claims that job seekers who paid for LinkedIn Premium subscriptions may have been presented with listings that were not legitimate hiring opportunities, according to the attorney general's office. 
The attorney general's office describes a "ghost job" as a listing that either does not correspond to an actual open position or is posted despite an employer having no immediate intention of filling the role, according to the attorney general's office. 
According to the attorney general's office, LinkedIn does not disclose that some listings may not represent active hiring opportunities, leading some consumers to pay for Premium subscriptions based on allegedly misleading representations about the platform's job marketplace. 
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Texas officials said LinkedIn Premium Career and Premium Business subscriptions cost about $39.99 and $69.99 per month, respectively. 
"I will use every resource available to my office to help job-seeking Texans find and secure real employment opportunities," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. 
"LinkedIn has a duty to provide the services it advertises and ensure that consumers paying for Premium subscriptions are receiving access to legitimate job postings," he continued. 
"I am investigating whether LinkedIn has misled Texans by promoting and profiting from ‘ghost jobs’ while marketing itself as a trusted platform for finding employment." 
Paxton said his office has issued a Civil Investigative Demand seeking documents, data and internal communications related to LinkedIn's advertising, marketing, verification practices and representations about its Premium subscription services and job listings. 
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In response to the investigation , LinkedIn defended its job marketplace, saying listings on the platform are required to be authentic and accurately represented. 
"LinkedIn’s goal is to help jobseekers find their next role, and our policies require that jobs posted be authentic and accurately represented," a LinkedIn spokesperson told FOX Business. 
"For many jobs posted on LinkedIn, we also display the company's response time and whether they're currently reviewing candidates, which helps jobseekers know if it is a current, active job opportunity." 
"We actively enforce our policies and continually invest in new features like verifications for jobs, recruiters and company pages to help LinkedIn members identify more trusted opportunities," the spokesperson added. 
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The attorney general's investigation has not resulted in formal charges or a lawsuit. 
Confirmation Bias
7%
Anchoring Bias
4.1%
Availability Heuristic
13.1%
Representativeness Heuristic
0%
Hindsight Bias
0%
Overconfidence Bias
0%
Framing Effect
8.4%
Loss Aversion
0%
Status Quo Bias
12.2%
Sunk Cost Effect
0%
Optimism Bias
13.3%
Pessimism Bias
2.9%
Negativity Bias
22.1%
Self-Serving Bias
6.8%
Fundamental Attribution Error
0%
Actor-Observer Bias
0%
In-Group Bias
0%
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
0%
Halo Effect
6.3%
Horn Effect
0%
Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%
Recency Bias
0%
Primacy Effect
0%
Blind-Spot Bias
0%
Ad Hominem
7%
Straw Man
0%
Appeal to Authority
24.2%
False Dilemma
0%
Slippery Slope
0%
Circular Reasoning
0%
Hasty Generalization
0%
Red Herring
5.9%
Bandwagon
0%
Appeal to Emotion
0%
Begging the Question
5.6%
Post Hoc (False Cause)
8.4%
Tu Quoque
0%
Burden of Proof
7.2%
Appeal to Nature
0%
Composition/Division
0%
Anecdotal
0%
No True Scotsman
0%
Ambiguity (Equivocation)
7%
Gambler’s Fallacy
0%
Middle Ground
0%
Personal Incredulity
0%
Special Pleading
0%
Genetic Fallacy
0%
Unattributed Quote
0%
Quote-first Misdirection
0%
Biased Writer Voice
7%
Indoctrination
0%
Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%
Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%
Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
2%

443 words analyzed.

Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.